HMS Ferret (Bedford)

HMS Ferret was established as a unit of the Royal Navy Reserve in 1982, initially based in Ashford, Kent, it moved in 1997 to its current location in the Defence Intelligence and Security Centre at Chicksands in Bedfordshire. HMS Ferret is responsible for the recruitment, training and deployment of Intelligence personnel, providing operational capability to UK defence.

Entry is competitive, but applications are welcomed from candidates of all ranks and with a wide range of skills and backgrounds, including ex-regular personnel from across the Armed Forces. Initial intelligence training is provided across several weekends and an intensive fortnight comprising the Intelligence Foundation course.

Continuation training is then available in a range of specialist disciplines, depending on personal preference and aptitude, including Strategic Intelligence, Operational Intelligence, Human Intelligence (HUMINT) and Imagery Intelligence (IMINT).

HMS Ferret personnel are deployable in a wide variety of intelligence roles and have supported operations in many theatres, including the Balkans, Iraq and Afghanistan. Being willing and able to deploy is particularly important in a branch which continues to be in high demand.

A condition of employment within HMS Ferret is that personnel must already hold, or be prepared to undergo, the highest levels of security clearance, known as Developed Vetting. As a guide, candidates must be UK citizens and have been resident within the UK for a minimum of 10 years.